Because it's Cold
by b3yondimaginations
Summary: Fred wants to test a theory. Maybe a few. And Draco's just the one for them. But it just had to be out in the snow, to Draco's chagrin.


A/N: Finally. Got to post my very first fic cos i love this pairing. Written on a whim. May be a little cliche and cheesy. and OOC. But hope you enjoy.

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**Because it's Cold**

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"Pray tell me, why we are sitting out here in the snow, when we could have been in the nice warm castle." Draco grumbled as he plopped himself down on a rock beside Fred, facing the lake and rubbing his gloved hands to keep warm, mist puffing out as he breathed out.

"Haven't you heard?" Fred turned to look at him.

Draco lifted an eyebrow at him. _Those brown eyes look so mischievous yet warm_, he noted at the back of his mind. He wondered if he ever saw them like that before. "About what?"

"It is said that the lake is where _couples_ usually go to. You know, for romance." The red head wriggled his brows at him, smirking.

"Huh." Draco looked back at the icy lakes, water peacefully drifting around as snow lightly fell from the grey skies. He shivered slightly from the cold. "So?"

"So, I just wanted to know why and test it out." He said with much enthusiasm.

"Test out whether it's romantic? Why not ask that twin brother of yours or your girlfriend or something." Draco sneered, annoyed.

"Don't be ridiculous, Draco. George and I aren't like that together. That would be…" He shuddered. "Plus, I don't have a girlfriend."

"What about Potter? Or Wood? They seem to be closer to you." He muttered, almost wistfully while the sound of his name still lingered in his ears. He made a tiny ball of snow and patted it in his hands, then flung it away. It sank into the lake with a soft plop.

"That's exactly why I didn't ask them. It wouldn't be a fair result if I tried it with those close to me. It would be bias."

"You're out of your mind if you think I would help." He frowned snobbishly.

"But you're here now." Fred replied smugly, which Draco had the urge to do something to wipe that annoying smirk out of his face.

"Out of duress and blackmailing from the past few weeks! Especially with the help of your bloody twin!" He exclaimed. He huffed and folded his arms, glaring at the dark waters in front.

Fred had the nerve to chuckle. "Since you're here now, might as well just sit here and enjoy the scenery. It's part of the test."

"Bloody Weasels and their stupid tests." Draco muttered. "And you couldn't have picked a warmer day!" He complained, rubbing his hands and ignoring the tingling feeling that there was something weird about Fred's concept. Or that it was weirder that he was chosen.

"That's the point really." Came a mumble.

"Huh?" Draco looked at him questioningly, his head tilted a little to the side, wondering what Weasley had just said.

_Those warm brown eyes are really… intense. _He blinked at the pink tinge that was appearing on those cheeks. "See? It's so cold that you're turning pink." He pointed out.

Fred looked momentarily surprised for a second, then seemed embarrassed, the pink tinge turning a little darker. Draco nodded inwardly to himself. He was right. The winter chills were getting to Weasley as well. He shivered and pulled his cloak tightly around himself.

"We should go back to the castle. I'm not going to freeze to death out here." He made to get up, but before he could move, a strong arm went around him snugly, pushing him gently but firmly towards the other. He tried not to squeak in surprise.

"Wha..What are you doing Weasley?" He hoped he sounded indignant to cover his higher pitch. His heart jumped. Ok, when did they get so close? He didn't remember sitting that close to Weasley. And their legs were touching!

"Hmm. Yup, definitely warmer don't you think?" Fred smirked at him. Not that he could see that tilted lips and that glittering eyes since he was looking at the lake and distracted by the warmth.

Indeed, Draco felt warmer. The arm around him was warm. His insides were squirming. His stomach was flipping. His heart was burning and beating slightly faster. Weird. "Y..Yeh. I guess so." He said grudgingly, sounding unsure. He wanted to scoot out of his arms, but Weasley was right. His body was feeling toasty and more comfortable.

He pouted. If it wasn't for Weasley's threats to spill the truth to Blaise and Pansy about what he had done to the shampoo and the Pygmy Puff respectively, he wouldn't be here suffering from the damn snow. It wasn't his fault that the shampoo bottle was uncovered when he spilt his Curly Devil potion and some of it went into the bottle. It also wasn't his fault that Pansy's Pygmy Puff happened to be near him and he just happened to need to test a new charm that he had learned. He just didn't expect his counter spell not to work. By right, they shouldn't be angry. Blaise had a new hairstyle which he should have gotten ages ago. It's just that it's afro style now with two devil curls on top and it looked pretty cute on him. The giggling first year Hufflepuffs should have shown him that. Pansy should be thankful that she has a pink unique bald Pygmy Puff which looked like a mini alien mouse. Where in the world could anyone find that? He sighed and relaxed slightly against Fred. If they knew he was responsible for those, they would have hexed him into the next millennium. Even Merlin couldn't survive that.

They sat in silence for awhile.

Why exactly were they here again?

Then, Draco felt something on his hair and heard Fred breathing in. He inhaled too. The air smelled like fresh snow. And his heart felt jittery. It must be affected by the cold too. And Fred smelled earthly and cozy, like fresh grass and hazel trees. It would be normal if he just… lean in more into that warmth. Discretely. Slowly. Yeh, just like that to absorb the heat. _Absorb all his heat and leave him to become a cold rock_, he thought spitefully. It was Fred's fault that he was freezing here! He fingered his gloved hands, rubbing them absentmindedly.

He was startled again when a gloved hand bigger than his, wrapped around his. He looked up at Fred. And realized their faces were pretty near each other.

"Your hands will be warmer like that, Dray." Fred simply said.

Draco swallowed. "Don't call me that! And know that I'm only letting you touch me because it's freezing."

Fred grinned.

Draco looked away.

Funny how the heat from Fred's hands transferred to Draco's, even though they were wearing gloves. Funnier how Draco was heating up in the face. Yeh. Definitely warm. And well, it felt good against the snow. Great. The absorption of heat was working well, even if it's from a Weasley. Maybe he would turn to stone right about now.

"Still feeling cold?" Fred spoke up, distracting Draco from his thoughts for a moment.

_Yes, duh! _Draco looked at him. "Um.."

"Because I still am." Fred's eyes sparkled while his voice had a cheeky tune to it.

"Oh." He blinked. _You're supposed to be my heater! _He wanted to say, but it came out as "Really?"

"Yeh. But I've got a wonderful theory that may make us warmer. And I want to test it out." Fred was still looking at him, his eyes never wavering. Just looking at him, looking into him with a lazy smile that made Draco want to absorb more heat from him.

"O-Ok. How?" He didn't realize that he had spoken so quietly, as if afraid to ruin the moment. Or whatever it was that was happening. He didn't realize that there was only the two of them out there in the winter snow. He could only hear his heart thundering and see those lovely warm eyes.

He glanced down at those lips. Those lips that were getting nearer. He glanced up. Those eyes were getting closer too. They were fluttering close. And so were his, as if hypnotised. And then, just then, those cold lips were on his, moving gently, carefully. Sweetly. Slowly but surely, Fred deepened the kiss, his tongue swiped over his lips and, Draco, wanting just to feel warmer, let them in. _Cranberries_. A hand gently caressed Fred's cheek and moved towards his hair, feeling those soft strands between his fingers as their kiss got slightly heavier. Boy was he getting hotter. Before he knew it, he was soaring. His heart was strangely flying and his whole body was burning and that was probably making his head mushy. Because he couldn't think. He could only feel.

Eventually, reluctantly, they pulled back from the kiss, their faces still close to each other, hands still intertwined. Draco felt flushed and breathless. He looked up and saw those smothering eyes looking- lovingly?- back at him. He felt strangely contented that Fred looked thoroughly flushed as well and somewhat disoriented. When had he started feeling that way towards that annoying, frustrating, persistent joker of a Gryffindor anyway?

"Was that warm enough?" He had to ask.

Fred beamed and made everything feel like spring again. "Yeh. Very. You?"

Draco couldn't prevent that shy smile from creeping up. "Yes. You're supposed to be my portable convector anyway." His breath trembled slightly.

"Let's try it again some time. You'll find that I can warm someone up in different ways." Fred said with an amused voice.

"O-Ok. It's a deal then. To keep warm after all." He sniffed and looked away, hoping his face hasn't turned into the shade of an apple yet..

Then, Fred stood up, bringing Draco up with him. He removed his arm and hand from Draco. "We should go back."

"Alright." Draco scratched his chest slightly, pouting. Strange that he felt a little colder. He almost missed it. Maybe he does.

"So, was being by the lake romantic?" Fred asked.

Draco blushed. "Er.."

"Well, we can always try again next time, Drake." He winked. "And you can help me test out more theories." Fred said cheerfully as they walked back towards the castle. He pulled one of his gloves off and without warning, took one of Draco's hands and pulled the glove off too.

"What are you…" Draco looked up at Fred who was looking down at their hands. His hands felt tingly from the touch. Or maybe it's just the wind.

"There's a theory that if you put yours and another person's bare hands together into your pocket, your hands will still feel warm inside even though it's winter." Then, Fred proceeded to do just that, clasping their fingers together and slipping both their hands into his pocket, then continued walking casually while Draco had to walk much closer to him because after all, his hand was in Fred's pocket.

And Draco felt warm all over again. He didn't care if he was grinning goofily because at least, Fred was too.

It was because it was cold that he gained a portable heater, he thought. For once, he was glad it was winter.


End file.
